On June 5, 2026, a federal court in Rhode Island vacated and set aside a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) freeze on adjudication of immigration benefit request applications, including work permits and green cards, for applicants from nearly forty countries subject to the administration’s travel bans.
Quick Hits
- A federal court vacated USCIS’s freeze on work permits, green cards, and other benefit requests for applicants from thirty-nine countries designated as “high risk” by the government, as well as foreign nationals with documentation issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.
- The ruling also struck down a related global asylum hold, USCIS re-review of benefit requests previously approved for applicants from affected countries, and a “country-specific factors” policy.
- The timeline for USCIS to resume adjudications remains uncertain, as the government may appeal the decision or seek a stay.
- The federal court’s ruling represents a significant development for foreign nationals from these countries and their employers.
The challenged USCIS policies halted adjudication of immigration benefit requests—including green cards, employment authorization documents, and nonimmigrant petitions—for individuals from countries the government deemed “high risk,” including foreign nationals from thirty-nine countries and those with Palestinian Authority-issued or -endorsed travel documents. USCIS also enacted related policies, including a global asylum hold, a comprehensive re-review policy of approved benefit request applications for individuals from travel-ban countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021, and a “country-specific factors” policy that directed officers to treat being from a travel ban country as a negative factor when reviewing a benefit request that required USCIS discretion.
In Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS, Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, found that each policy—the global asylum hold policy, the adjudication benefits hold policy, the comprehensive re-review policy, and the “country-specific factors” policy—violated the Administrative Procedure Act and conflicted with existing law. He additionally found that the policies were arbitrary and capricious because USCIS did not provide a reasoned explanation for enacting the policies, did not account for reliance interests in enacting the policies, and provided a pretextual reason for enacting the policies.
The ruling carries several practical implications. By vacating and setting aside the challenged policies, the court’s order is expected to set the stage for USCIS to resume adjudicating nonimmigrant petitions, work permits, green card applications, and other benefit requests for affected individuals from the designated countries. Employers with sponsored employees whose Form I-129, Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status, or “green card” application), Form I-765 (Employment Authorization Document), or other benefit request applications had stalled may see movement on those cases. As the government may seek a stay or appeal, the practical timing or long-term effect of any resumption in adjudication remains uncertain. The court noted that USCIS’s freeze in adjudicating benefit request applications left many individuals without work and without legal status for an extended period, and the practical effect of the ruling on those individuals will depend on how USCIS implements the order.
Next Steps
As this is a district court decision, the government may appeal and may seek a stay of the order while it undergoes review. Any resumption of adjudications is therefore subject to change. Employers with petitions pending with USCIS that were affected by the now-vacated policies should monitor further developments, including any government motion to stay the court’s order or notice of appeal.
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